UPDATE 3 - August 25, 2007 - Kilimanjaro and Meru
(go to Update 1 - SAFARI - on this page)
(go to Update 2 - MAASAI - on this page)
(go to update 3 - KILI AND MERU - on this page)

ABOVE LEFT : The "table top" summit of Meru... a really tiny area. ABOVE RIGHT: Looking over the right side towards Kili. Immediately to my right is a few thousand meter drop. Considered to be one of the highest around.

ABOVE LEFT : A chilly sunrise. The closest I have come to frostbite due to having inadequate gloves. ABOVE RIGHT: You can see how thin and sheer this summit is.

ABOVE LEFT : Walking in the clouds. ABOVE RIGHT: Some parts are really steep and many say it is better that you were climbing at night to NOT see the perils to either side.

ABOVE LEFT : Starting KILIMANJARO in need of CIPROFLAXIN. NO fun being sick on day one of a big climb. ABOVE RIGHT: My crew. from left to right... ALI, ELIJUIS, VITALIS, MELKEORE and GODLISTEN (one of my favorite names).

ABOVE LEFT : Steep climbs on Kili. ABOVE RIGHT: Yummy food comes from small quarters

ABOVE LEFT : Ya sure you are not SUPPOSED to have candles in tents, but is helps... and is one step better than the cooks who have the STOVES in the tent! Warm but dangerous. ABOVE RIGHT: Views from Shira Cave camp at 3900 meters.

ABOVE LEFT : Looking towards part of the summit of KILIMAJARO (not the highest part though). ABOVE RIGHT: My favorite part... going up the steep Barafu Wall.

ABOVE LEFT : Take care of your porters! I will explain this story at the show when it is complete.

ABOVE LEFT : William being a porter for a day. ABOVE RIGHT: A potentially foolish gesture since this could have been what made the summit that bit hard at 1 am when we left that night.

ABOVE LEFT : Yum. ABOVE RIGHT: Barafu camp (Barafu means ice), but global warming takes its toll.

ABOVE LEFT : The summit of Kilimajaro. ABOVE RIGHT: A very long walk up or down.

ABOVE LEFT : Going down and seeing people coming up still was a reminder of HOW truly brutal this 5 hour uphill on scree was! . ABOVE RIGHT: Funny that you could go from the summit right down to the base in a day AFTER summitting even (that would be a 18 hour trekking day).

ABOVE LEFT : Gifted clothes come from everywhere. This fellow's shirt is from NEW WESTMINISTER. ABOVE RIGHT: Some of these bicycle stacks get MUCH higher than this!

ABOVE LEFT : Slightly challenging accomodation. No walls to this place and three holes in the Mozzy net. Those nasty mosquitos can really find their way into nets if they want too. I had a collection of bites, but so far no malaria. ABOVE RIGHT: Maasai Morani (warriors) fussing over hair.

ABOVE LEFT : Dhows in Zanzibar. Wonderful place to just hang out. ABOVE RIGHT: All maasai have cell phones and Mattias (left) has my phone number at home. I wonder if the 10 hour time difference means a call at a very strange time.

ABOVE LEFT : I was fortunate enough to do some diving with SCUBA DO DIVING in Kendwa in North Zanzibar. What a hoot! ABOVE RIGHT: Dala Dalas often break down and everyone has to pitch in to get them started again.

ABOVE LEFT : Great promo by a man who does not read english. ABOVE RIGHT: I asked this woman (in swahili) if it was ok to take her photo... it was her husband who said yes, and funny enough HE was the driver of the above Dalla dalla bus!

I look forward to seeing you at the shows in VANCOUVER VICTORIA and NANAIMO in OCTOBER. Thanks to all of those who bought so many tickets immediately upon announcement of the dates. Your support is enthusiasm is appreciated.

UPDATE 2 - July 30, 2007 - Maasai lands
(go to Update 1 - SAFARI - on this page)
(go to Update 2 - MAASAI - on this page)
(go to update 3 - KILI AND MERU - on this page)

(above) Bicyles everywhere no matter how much dust. RIGHT: Sanje Waterfalls near Mangula Town. I have some wonderful "Government" stories here. I had to put quotes around that since it just doesnt seem real.

(above) : Helping out some ladies (who do all the hard work) by carrying firewood down the mountain. My fifteen minute effort would prove very hard on the quads (had to duck a lot too). RIGHT: A millipedd that is about 1 foot long.

(above) : We did a three day walk near Mount Marakot. I am proud to have successfully washed myself and that little line of clothes in less than 1.5 litres of water.... ok it was more "dirt re-distribution" than washing. RIGHT: Snakes be damned... working out some fancy painting with light at night. That is William on left. 30 Second exposures.

(above) : More long exposure images. Wait till you see the one with full galaxies in it!

(above) : The TATOGA people who are supposedly the enemies of the MAASAI. The marks around the eyes are done for beautification by those who wish. the scars on her shoulder were for special medicine to remedy an arm injury. RIGHT: SUPER heavy jewerly. The put plastic lids as spacers to stop jingling noises.

(above): Most africans have just amazing teeth. RIGHT: The man of the house(s). He had 4 wives here and if he gets more cattle he can afford more wives.

(above) : Wait till you see the video of this conversation with the TATOGA gent. How many cows did I have? How many wives? RIGHT: The VERVIT MONKEY also known as the "blue ball monkey".... no idea why ;-)

(above) : The amazing HADZABI people. A real highlight. Total hunter and gatherer lifestyle and a quickly dwindling population. Maybe only about 1800 to 2000 of them left. They can shoot flying birds this size out of the sky. Amazing skills. RIGHT: How would you like your DIK DIK cooked. Charred hopefully. Yes I ate some.

(above) : A well honed arrow is required for hunters with this kind of prowess. RIGHT: Dik Dik for all. The dogs get the endtrails, the women and kids get the lungs. Men get the good bits like brains and other organs.

(above) : One of my best shirt acquisitions ever even if it will require some tailoring to fit. This is a cement bag shirt that I will treasure. RIGHT: They were impressed to see themselves at work.

(above): A wonderful toy shared by the blacksmith's kids.

(above): staying with the Maasai People for a few days in the middle of nowhere July 26, 27, 28. One of the dustiest places ever. RIGHT: William scaring children by merely existing.

(above) : It might not look like much, but the left image may represent one of the most dangerous undertakings here. Walking in thick brush or farmlast as seen here is where you can bump into Black Mambas, Green Mambas and Spitting Cobras. A bite from a black mamba will kill within 7 minutes and turn your skin black. They are THE most agressive snake and can easily move at 25 km per hour. They have been know to attack cars if threatened by smashing their head into the windscreen. Wait till you hear about them in the show. Fun stuff. RIGHT: Something I am not proud of becoming a real highlight. These MAASAI MORANI (warriors) asked if I was born with this metal tooth. Some others asked if it went all the way to the top of my head.

(above): Wife number 4 at the Boma. The Father here has 6 wives all living here and has "about" 30 children so far. 8 per wife is preffered, but can be as few as 1 or 2 and as many as 11. He does not count his children as it is a bad omen. He does not count his sheep and goats either but can tell you if one is missing and what it looks like too. Not only that, he can recognize the most subtle of colour and shade differences to denote animals AND can tell you which of them are related to which of them. with 300 cattle and a few hundred sheep that is really impressive. RIGHT: I know most people who go places and say "they have never seen white people before" are mistaken. However a couple of these children are young enough and remote enough to have not seen a MUZUNGU before.

(above): I guess it was an honour to have a goat slaughtered as a gift for me, but it was a bit challenging. ALL (and I do mean all) of the goat would be consumed that night. In these photos you can see one MORANI (warrior) drinking the warm blood that is so revered. The Goat is suffocated to ensure no loss of blood.

(above) : Some of the same children, just a wee bit dustier. In the background that glowing BOMA is where the goat is being slaughtered and cooked. Women are not allowed in, but little boys and girls come in as they wish. RIGHT: MAASAI MORANI cannot eat this section of the goat. it is the Spinal cord. It is saved for the ELDERS to consume. A real cherisished portion since it is so high in fat. Little did i know that I would end up with a bit of that... see below.

(above) : The infamous Jumping that the MAASAI MORANI do. If you have ever seen footage or images of taht in the daytime it has been staged. this only happens at night and I was priviledged to be allowed to photograph this (as with the slaughter above). Most of the jumping is totally vertical, but the last landing (seen here) lands with a big slapping thud. I have no idea how they do it. RIGHT: My Bed. Not the most comfy sleeping on a Buffalo skin amongst cattle turds agaist a cattle turd wall, but a heck of an experience. A cow sniffed me in the night (scared the heebee jeebees out of me), but they Hyenas i could hear at night never came to nibble me. Hyeanas digest bones too by the way.

(above): The MAASSAI ate only meat and Ugali. Funny to think the are very fussy that no vegetables be put in their pots. they don't want them to be contaminated. RIGHT: I had no clue when I ate some of this stuff that this was the Spinal cord section stewed in fat all night. Egads. Cheerios is a bit more my thing for breakfast.

I look forward to seeing you at the shows in VANCOUVER VICTORIA and NANAIMO in OCTOBER. Thanks to all of those who bought so many tickets immediately upon announcement of the dates. Your support is enthusiasm is greatly appreciated.

UPDATE 1 - July 15, 2007 - SAFARI!
(go to Update 1 - SAFARI - on this page)
(go to Update 2 - MAASAI - on this page)
(go to update 3 - KILI AND MERU - on this page)

The next adventure (being undertaken at this very moment too) will be about Tanzania. It will take a while to compile and edit, but that will become the newest show following BURMA BOUND.

July 8, 2007: I am sitting in a tent in a game reserve with Lions, Hippos, elephants, warthogs and a bunch of other "beasties" about.

July 9, 2007: Something was panting at my tent door last night at about 1 am. I startled it what I finally sat up and never found out what it was. Maybe that was for the best :-). It really could have been anything from Hyena to Lion.

(above) Got to go to a birthday party on my first night in tanzania and was able to present these socks to 1 year old FARAJA and her parents (unprompted) said they would keep them for 30 years. They loved them.

(above) : warthog and Red Hornbilled something or other... have to check my notes!

(above) : Hippos and some of the many folks living very nearby.

(above) : Pied Kingfisher just before diving for a fish. Thanks again to CANON CAMERAS for some great equipment to work with,

(above) : our camp in the Selou near the lake with hippos and crocs.
Right: Giraffes put themselves at risk drinking water. Many of these images were shot with a CANON 400 mm lens DOUBLED to be an 800 mm lens!

(above): scrambling from the waterhole. Right: me at work trying to keep track of things. The computer on the tent floor on the right was indespensable.

(above) : Hippo and Baboons. Great stories about them, but you will have to come see the show! Sign up on top right of this page.

(above) : the Elephant that came VERY close to the tents. Right: Hyena waiting for a chance to get at the buffalo the Lions killed near us.

(above) : A wonderful town stop.

(above) : this guy actually charged me. Really! Right: Crocs getting close.

(above): Road Life.

(above right): Impalas practicing.

(above) : Kitty cats on left and Hyraxes on right (they are related to the elephant and even have the same feet (just a LOT smaller ;-)

(above): We had to keep our distance a bit more from a mom lion and cubs. Right: one of the Colobus Monkeys also known as the "blue ball" monkeys.

(above): A 5 pm we found this relatively recent kill (lions can be seen lounging behind the bush to the top left). By the next day at same time, little would be left of this carcass - what an event that turned out to be with visits by lions, LOTS of vultures and hyenas too. Amazing but smelly sight.

(above) : It can take a couple days to finish off a buffalo. The vultures do it much faster though. Right: 50 pound catfish!

(above) : getting MATANASHATI in camp (Handsome). RIght. KULE TANO CHIZI WANGU!! My favorite phrase. Well actually second favorite, but you will have to wait till the show to hear about "POLE KWA KASI"

(above) : A patient vulture.

Please feel free to contact MAMA TEMBO TOURS If you might wish to do your own southern Tanzania safari. email Leslie Nevison